Armstrong and Contador to ride together

Astana riders Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador will ride together for the first time as teammates in the the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon from March 24-28. This much anticipated meeting of the two Tour de France contenders will give the first indication of how well preparations are going for the big show in July.

The riders have different programs for their build up to the tour, with Armstrong favoring Milan-San Remo and the Giro d'Italia and Contador heading to Paris-Nice and deciding his Spring program after the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon. The Astana website said Armstrong will be focusing on the time-trial and mountain stages in Spain, and then head back to his home in Austin to continue his preparations.

In his comeback year Armstrong is looking towards Tour de France victory eight, while Contador is hoping for win number two. Astana maintains they will support the strongest rider, which could be complicated come July since German Andreas Kloden and American Levi Leipheimer have also been very successful in the Grand Boucle.